The Depth of Attention

The Depth of Attention

Attention is said to be our most precious commodity. Yet today, many of us freely give it away to entities that may not have our best interests at heart, such as social media and modern advertising in particular. On the dharma path, we discover that where we place our attention matters greatly. We begin to understand that what we focus on and think about becomes the inclination of the mind, ultimately shaping our suffering or our peace. As we wake up to this reality, we begin to make choices more carefully. We become more mindful of what we feed the mind and how. Through meditation, we cultivate concentration and the ability to watch our thoughts. Ultimately, paying attention to the nuances of where our attention goes becomes central to our journey.

Understanding Wise Attention: Yoniso Manasikara

While simple attention is valuable, wise attention,known as yoniso manasikara in Pali, plays an even more vital role in ending suffering.

Let’s look at this phrase linguistically:

• Yoni: Most often translated as "origin" or "womb." This word is found in Hindu teachings and predates Gotama Buddha. In Pali, yoni as part of yoniso is most often translated as "thorough," "appropriate," and "wise."

• Manasikara: This word has two parts: manasi, meaning "in the mind," and kara, meaning "making or bringing into being."

Bringing this all together, the Buddha was teaching a depth and thoroughness of attention that penetrates our typical delusions. For example, with simple attention, we can know the thoughts that have arisen, but not enough to see them clearly. With simple attention, we can know something superficially, but we will still find ourselves unconsciously or consciously believing the thought, acting on the thought, relating to it as a truth, and even believing that the thought is synonymous with the self. As we deepen our attention and it becomes wise attention, we begin to see more clearly. We see the vaporous and transitory nature of thought. We see it in its arising form and its passing away form. We see that for 99% of thoughts, we did not invite them. The thoughts arose on their own. If we even look more closely, we see how conditioned the thoughts truly are. The thought that just arose is some version of a thought that has arisen thousands, if not millions, of times before. Ultimately, with yoniso manasikara, we are invited to see into emptiness, or as Thich Nhat Hanh taught, Interbeing. 

De-Conditioning the Mind

Yoniso manasikara is directed toward the entire field of insight. And, as it is, it becomes our most powerful tool for deconditioning the way perception misinterprets the world around us. As wise attention develops, we can see the arising of the unwholesome roots: greed, hatred, and delusion, much more clearly. Greed and anger will not stop arising until nearing liberation; they are part of our conditioning. The impulse to want things to be different will not stop either, as this nervous system response and psychological urge is deeply embedded in the human condition. But what happens next, in the space right after one of these three conditioned toxins rears its head, is one of the places where the power of the dharma lies. At the very core of that space is the potential for yoniso manasikara.

Can we become more interested in honestly seeing these states in their full depth? Can we turn away from whatever was annoying or seducing us externally and stay with the inner somatic and cerebral experience long enough to see it clearly? 

What will we find? That is the question that guides the journey.

On the Cushion and in Daily Life

The practice of yoniso manasikara can be a profound practice both on the meditation cushion and in everyday life. Here is a simple example from my own experience:

Yesterday, I found some time to sit outside while my dogs, Cricket and Willa Dean, sunbathed in the midday sun. At first, I felt a worldly joy as the dogs frolicked together. I was pleasantly aware of the sun's warmth and the cool breeze. But as I sat longer, another, more unworldly joy began to arise. It was a more all-encompassing, penetrating joy that wasn’t dependent on the conditions of the day, but was rooted in the deep peace and tranquility of resting in a mind and heart at ease.

What happened next caught me by surprise.

After experiencing this deep ease for just a brief few moments, I felt a sudden impulse to reach for my phone. This was fascinating! Why would I do that? Why wouldn’t I just continue to enjoy this beautiful experience for as long as it lasted?

Instead of grabbing the phone, I paused first, then turned my gaze inward, took a breath, and really tuned into the experience beneath the impulse to flee. What I felt was a subtle restlessness. I kept looking, keeping my attention pinned to the somatic experience. Beneath the restlessness, there was fear. As I simply sat with the quality of fear that had arisen, the slight dis-ease, the subtle agitation, I also watched it dissipate, taking the initial unworldly joy and ease along with it. Ahh. Like all conditioned experiences, the ones we like and the ones we don’t, both were impermanent, subject to change, and therefore not inherently "self" (or Stephanie, in this case). Nothing was outright resolved per se, but these momentary experiences that once upon a time would pass by us without notice, now, when attended to, have the power to change our conditioning, to change our kamma. Over and over, the choices we make, both small and large, lead us toward peace or suffering. By holding my attention thoroughly and wisely on the experience, I saw my own current subtle dis-ease that can arise with the newer experience of inner peace (an inner experience my pre-Buddhist self was extremely unfamiliar with). Yoniso manasikara also reconfirmed that everything changes all the time, reinforcing the understanding that I can be with what is, just as it is. This awareness is part of cultivating equanimity. I don’t need to rely on distraction, and I don't need to fear the continuation of my blossoming heart.

Inevitably, I know I will have many more opportunities to practice and to support new conditions that lead to ultimate liberation, if I am mindful enough to bring yoniso manasikara to the moment once again.